Őrültek háza

An interesting but somewhat uneven film. It has several strengths, including its anti-war focus, a series of scenes in the style of magical realism a la Kusturica, a solid cast, and of course a subject set in a crazy time in a mad country. War films in general have tremendous potential, and if the director can work with emotions correctly, a very interesting work can be created. The problem is that Konchalovsky was past his prime, and this simply isn't Siberiade. His film is marked by a certain artistic mannerism, the characters are too stereotyped, I don't believe in some of the dialogues very much, and above all, the classic drawbacks of the Russian (Soviet) film school are apparent in House of Fools, meaning that there is too much tendency toward lyricism and an unwillingness to cut unnecessary scenes. I found the casting of truly disabled patients in the film unethical. At times, the director blatantly blackmails the audience with shots of the community of mentally ill patients. On the other hand, what works perfectly are, for example, the absurd scenes of trading between Russian soldiers and Chechen insurgents, or shots of stressed and exhausted soldiers. Overall impression: 60%. (2009.05.19)